Simple as, the Union are back in Womford- with lots of questions still, and plenty of people they need to see…

That’s it really.

But I will say this ahead of time, it was a cracking session- lots of role play all the way through. Nice work fellers.

2) The Union in Womford.

We got plenty done this session, however all of it was roleplaying- not one dice rolled in anger.

The guys are back in Womford, here follows their evening and then the morning after in town. There’s lots to do for the Union, and so after a brief chat with Captain Soranna the guys divide up the jobs and head off to let people know that they are back, or else, well… see below.

Ken Lee visits with his Harper mentor- Sertiernen the Wise, the Halfling Wizard, and makes his report- which leads to more head scratching, Sertiernen does not have any answers with regard to the missing ‘bell’. The Halfling does however have some information about Kal’Zerth, the Drow the guys met earlier at the Ironwrought and again under Bargewright. It seems records have been discovered in Yartar (a small city just to the north of the Dessarin Valley, and home to a large Harper contingent) that confirm that the Drow is, or rather was, a Harper- he last contacted the organisation half a millennia ago. Ken Lee is given a new Harper badge, and asked to make contact again with Kal’Zerth- extract an explanation for his silence, and see if the Drow would like to renew his pledge to the organisation.

Kal’Zerth.

Meanwhile Lord Thaelond and Zyler head around town working their way through the Bag of Holding- which is full of all manner of junk that the guys are keen to sell, the pair prove to be an odd choice for the task- their social skills are not the greatest, and yet their enthusiasm wins through (mostly) the pair generate another 1,000gp to be distributed among the members of the group.

Avarthel, the Druid.

Meanwhile Zalt flies across the Dessarin River (the ferry has finished for the night) and visits with Avarthel the Druid, to tell him the bad news- Sqwelch has been ‘taken’ and possibly by some creature that could be (maybe) a large Black Dragon. Avarthel is suitably upset, the Druid makes a great many declarations of loyalty- he will make every effort to get Sqwelch back. He further advises Zalt that he will be leaving tomorrow- finding and recovering Sqwelch is his quest.

The pair continue to talk for a good while more, in particular they touch on the subject of the Bronzehammer’s rule of the Dessarin Valley, and also the Vraath’s rule of the Valley. Avarthel further explains that between the rule of the Bronzehammer and the Vraath and third party took control of the Dessarin- the Uthgardt. Zalt has heard of the Uthgardt, northern Barbarians that moved (or rather invaded) the Sword Coast over half-a-millennia past.

After the chat is over, and after the other members of the Union have concluded their business the guy’s head back to join up with Grimm, who is at present with Ken Lee and the Seven Dwarves (see below). A short while later the two groups are enjoying a meal and drinks in the back room of the Old Bridge Inn (which Lord T ‘sort of’ owns).

3) Meeting the Seven Dwarves.

Grimm meanwhile is drawn to the Green Apple Inn, he’s heard from Captain Soranna that there’s a Dwarf there (newly arrived in Womford) who is also called ‘Grimm’, he’d like to meet the fellow. Alas the meeting proves to be difficult- Lord Grimm, (the Dwarf) is surrounded by his six staunch Dwarven companions, over the course of the session Grimm and the guys learn the names and a little about the ‘Seven Dwarves’; for the reader’s convenience (ahead of time) here’s a brief description of the septet-

Lord Grimm Grimmerson- Holy Warrior and Exalted Priest of Moradin- very firm, but fair; initially reluctant to engage with our Grimm, but later polite and willing to share information. He is the absolute ruler of the Seven Dwarves, his word is law.

Fenchurch- the talker of the group, adept with musical instruments (possibly a Bard); polite, cordial and generally the first point of contact for anyone wishing to speak to the “Seven”.

Berend- older, quieter and will eat almost anything; he was eating a mouse when the guys first encountered him. Nothing else to report.

Tordek- Dwarven warrior, on edge, a little loud and threatening- not that bright.

Travok- Paladin of Moradin, tends to shout “Moradin!” a lot, not very articulate but built like a brick shithouse and tough with it.

Koda- massively obese loin cloth wearing (my eyes, my eyes) Monk who even when drunk seems able to move with the grace of a feline- although a drunk, fat, feline. Has yet to utter a word.

And lastly-

Ragnarr- a short, nasty, violent and expressively sweary Dwarven Rogue- really (no, really) bad tempered- threatened to cut our Grimm’s “plums” off and make him “eat ‘em” in his opening remarks. Later we discover that Ragnarr loves to dance and sing… he’s a mystery.

And so our Grimm’s attempt to make the acquaintance of Lord Grimm founders slightly- basically Fenchurch rescues the situation (after Ragnarr gets feisty) and drags our Grimm off for a drink and a chat. Sometime later our Grimm mentions the fact that the Union have been discovering and exploring Bronzehammer ruins for the past two tendays.

At which point Fenchurch declares “Code 3” very loudly (which is then repeated by the other six Dwarves), the Grimms (both of them) are ushered out of the Inn- to a secret meeting, although the Dwarves have no idea where the ‘secret meeting’ will take place. They are therefore left standing in the snow outside of the Inn… at which point Ken Lee turns up, followed soon after by the rest of the Union.

Lord T suggests that they head back to The Old Bridge Inn, for a secret (sorta) meeting.

The two groups tell tall tales for a while, and then eventually get down to business- at the end of which it seems the guys have some info that Lord Grimm and the Seven Dwarves are desperate to acquire- the location of Dhol Kuldhir, the Door at the End. The Union however are initially suspicious, it takes the entire evening of chatter (including another flying visit to Avarthel- the Druid knows of the Dwarves) to convince the Union that the Seven Dwarves are the good guys. Eventually they agree to take the Dwarves to the Door at the End on the morrow, Lord Grimm states that the way will open when they present themselves at the ‘Door’. The guys want to be there when this happens, they’re keen to see what lies beyond…

During his time at the Inn Lord T (really Goren) also learns that Bargewright has turned into a ghost town, after the quarantine was lifted a majority of the merchants there decided to cut their losses and left en masse. It seems Kellin Shadowbanks, the temporary Lord of Bargewright is not having a great time of it.

4) Back to the Door at the End.

Bargewright.

And so the next morning, with the snow still falling, the guys march the Seven Dwarves thirty minutes down the road to Bargewright- the place is very quiet, a majority of the stores and the merchants have fled. Lord T finds Kellin at the Inn, and has a serious chat with the Halfling he left in charge- the plan is a grand re-opening of the place, with a variety show and all manner and fun and games for all of the family. Alas Bargewright’s coffers are nigh on empty- therefore Goren (somewhat reluctantly) has to put his hand in his pocket and pay over 150gp to get the show on the road.

Kellin has more news- a Drow emerged from the depths the day after the guys departed, Kal’Zerth is in residence at the Inn. The guys break for a quiet chat with their favourite Dark Elf- Kal’Zerth is keen to talk about the Door at the End, remember he’s been there before, although that was a millennia ago, when he was part of an attack on the Bronzehammer Dwarves (who were corrupted and had released a fungi-infected Gargoyle into the depths). The Union and the Drow chat for a while, and then agree to swap information- specifically Kal’Zerth is interested in the ‘time’ that appears above the door, which he believes is a countdown of sorts (some of the guys are of the same opinion as the Drow). And so both parties write down the time on the display and swap numbers, the revelation is shocking, so much so that Kal’Zerth has to go away and think about things after the event.

The time on the display when the characters arrived at the door was-

“09:03”

When they all left the chamber the time clicked (rather beeped) down to-

“09:02”

The shocking reveal is that when Kal’Zerth and his comrades in arms visited the chamber the time was-

“09:03”

The inevitable conclusion of this data is either-

a) In a millennia the countdown (if it is such- doubts are beginning to emerge) has gone down by “1”, that’s a long time to wait for the final reveal. Or,
b) The countdown was stopped, the Union’s visit to the door caused it to start again.

Both explanations seem unsatisfactory.

A short while later Ken Lee visits Kal’Zerth in his room, and re-enrols the Drow in the Harpers, this after the Dark Elf explains that he had retired from the organisation previously, or else gone into sleeper mode.

And so, eventually, the Union lead the Seven Dwarves down again into the depths. Through the mines. Which now show no sign of the strange fungus infection, down the trapped stairs and into the Bronzehammer complex below- this too is much less infected. All the way to the door…

The Door at the End.

The Seven Dwarves, in between congratulating the Union and each other, are of course delighted- they take up positions before the might edifice and complete their prayer to Lord Moradin- this they have been told by the elders that sent them forth will trigger the ‘opening of the way’.